Hovenier: The United States is committed to partnership with Kosovo

2024-12-27 16:13:16, Kosova & Bota CNA

The US ambassador to Pristina, Jeff Hovenier, said on Friday that the United States is committed to partnering with Kosovo and its path to progress.

He made these comments in his last official meeting as the ambassador of the United States in Kosovo. Together with the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, he laid wreaths near the statue of the first president of the country, Ibrahim Rugova, in the center of Pristina.

Ambassador Hovenier said that the completion of the mission in September of former President Rugova is an expression of respect for what he represented.

"His insistence on the rights and protection of all the people of Kosovo, his insistence on a sovereign democratic, multi-ethnic and peaceful state, his insistence on achieving those goals in a proportional manner with the highest values ??of the community international", said Ambassador Hovenier.

He said that throughout his three-year service as ambassador, he has made efforts to help the progress of Kosovo.

"The United States is committed to our partnership. We want to see Kosovo succeed and progress. When I think about what this country was like when I first started working in the late nineties, when I think about what it was like at the time of independence and when I think about how it is now, there is no doubt about the progress and the capacity and resilience of the people of Kosovo to see the realization of his vision for a sovereign, independent, democratic, multi-ethnic, prosperous and successful state", he said.

"I thank Ambassador Hovenier for his contribution to the protection of these values, for his strong voice in the defense of the independent, sovereign, multi-ethnic state and the current borders of the Republic of Kosovo", said the President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani.

She reiterated, as she said, the importance of maintaining cooperation with the country's allies, which according to her was the value of former president Ibrahim Rugova

"The protection of sovereignty and alliances go together and are very closely related to each other. When you have powerful friends by your side, when you have friendships that are based on values, then both the people of Kosovo and the state of Kosovo, the sovereign state in full protection of territorial integrity, move forward," she said.

The President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani said last month that alliances between states are bigger and more important than any politician or a pair of elections and that jeopardizing and undermining them harms Kosovo itself, in a clear reference to the government's disagreements. Kosovo with its allies regarding the developments in the north, which provoked clashes even within the institutions themselves./ VOA